The accolades keep rolling in for Dalton Knecht who put together one of the best seasons in Tennessee basketball history.

Knecht was named the honoree for the 2023-24 Julius Erving Award. This is annually given to the country's top small forward.

The honor is awarded by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and was announced on ESPN College GameDay Saturday evening.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

"I am honored to receive this prestigious award," said Knecht. "To see my name associated with one of the greatest basketball players ever is truly humbling. I want to thank Julius Erving and the entire committee for selecting me. It would not have been possible, though, without my teammates and coaches. I'd like to express my appreciation to every single one of them for supporting me throughout this entire season, on and off the court. I will be forever grateful to all of them, as well as to the University of Tennessee community and Vol Nation, for embracing me in such an incredible way."

No Tennessee player has ever claimed any of the awards given to the best player at each position. The Bob Cousy Award for point guards began in 2004 and every other position's award began in 2015.

Other winners of the award for small forwards include the following:

Knecht beat out Keion Brooks Jr. (Washington), David Jones (Memphis), Dillon Jones (Weber State) and Baylor Scheierman (Creighton) for the recognition.

He averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in his lone season in Knoxville. He claimed SEC Player of the Year and is a finalist for National Player of the Year due to his success.

This was critical in the Vols' regular season SEC title and second-ever Elite Eight appearance.

–––––

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.

–––––